Associations among adverse childhood experiences, aggression, depression, and self-esteem in serious female juvenile offenders in Japan

Abstract

Female juvenile offenders are more likely to have a history of childhood abuse, emotional disturbances, mental health problems, and serious problems involving substance abuse. The aim of this study were: (1) to investigate the characteristics of self-esteem, aggressiveness, depressiveness, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), (2) to examine the relationships of these characteristics between female inmates of a juvenile correctional facility and age- and gender-matched controls, and (3) to propose an appropriate cause–effect relation model using structural equal modeling. The subjects were 81 female juveniles admitted to a female juvenile correctional facility and 285 age- and sex-matched comparisons. There was clear evidence for strong relationship between ACEs, aggression, depression, and low self-esteem. In addition, path analysis by structural equation modeling showed a simple clear model diagram regarding self-esteem in the female juvenile offenders.

Keywords:

• aggression
• depression
• psychiatric disorder
• women offenders
• antisocial behavior
• adolescence